Category: Reviews

Future World Review.

INTRO

Future World at the Art Science Museum, is the newest permanent exhibition available there. Covering an area of 1500sqft, Future World consists of 15 different exhibitions. The exhibits are so interactive that to me it is more of a playground than an exhibition.

EXHIBITS

 There are 15 exhibits within Future World. These are categorized into 4 different themes.

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Exhibits by Theme

  • Nature

    1. Flowers and People, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together – A Whole Year per Year | Ever Blossoming Life II – A Whole Year per Year; Dark | Flutter of Butterflies Beyond Borders

    2. 100 Years Sea Animation Diorama

  • Town

    1. Sketch Town | Sketch Town Paper Craft

    2. Connecting! Train Block

    3. Media Block Chair

    4. A Table Where Little People Live

  • Park

    1. Universe of Water Particles

    2. Create! Hopscotch for Geniuses

    3. Light Ball Orchestra

    4. Sketch Aquarium

    5. Story of the Time When Gods Were Everywhere

  • Space

    1. Crystal Universe

My Thoughts

Although the entire exhibition was very entertaining, I do have my favorites.

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Story of the Time When Gods Were Everywhere

This is a digital projection where participants take on the role of “God”. By touching the symbols the participant “creates” all sorts of things from horses to elephants and even mountains, rain and fire.

Narrative wise it tells a story of creation where each permutation of this story is never the same. Every experience is unique making this a very good example of generative art.

Universe of Water Particles

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The beautiful centerpiece of the exhibition. It is basically a simulation of water particles making their way down a 7 meter tall virtual waterfall.

The simulation is so accurate it brings a sense of realism to the piece but at the same time due to the luminosity of the exhibit it exudes an otherworldly aura. The end result being a very Zen like piece. Giving me the impression that I could sit there for hours on end just watching it.

Although there are no interactive elements in this piece it is still one of my favorites as to me it really represents the term when Art meets Science by referencing nature to such an accurate degree.

Media Block Chair

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This exhibit to me was very enjoyable simply placing these blocks together or removing blocks from an existing structure changes the color of every other block. To me this physical interaction is the most honest.

The permutations of colors are endless giving you more incentive to play with this exhibit. In a sense this exhibit gives your the “Science” part and it is up to you and your imagination to create the “Art” portion.

Crystal Universe

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This one is one of the most beautiful exhibits I have ever seen. Using a multitude of LED lights, this exhibit gives the viewer the experience of seeing stars move through space and even encounter things like planets, galaxies and gravitational waves.

But that’s not all! The exhibit allows users to alter the “universe” with the use of their smartphones. Changing the environment interactively.

This interaction adds so much more appeal to the already beautiful exhibit. Which is a wonderful example of interactive spaces.

All in all this exhibit brings to mind just how small my existence is with regard to the universe. It is a very humbling thought.

In terms of narratives this exhibit takes you on a journey of discovery to unnamed planets and galaxies in a sense putting the viewer in the role of a space traveler or an omnipresent being.

Having this exhibit at the very end of Future World leaves you with a very lasting impression.

CONCLUSIONS

Future World is a wonderful experience. I would definitely pay the $22 again to go an view it one more time. Not only does it provide entertainment which sets it apart from may art exhibits, it also teaches me lessons in interactive spaces and provides insights into more abstract narratives. The kind of narratives that is not spoken or described in words but felt through visuals and sounds.

Gone Home Review.

INTRO

Every place  has a story to tell, homes especially. For the people that live there every random item on the wall, every dent in the furniture can be part of their shared history as a family. Gone Home is a game about pure discovery. Discovery into the lives of the Greenbriars. There are no enemies to fight, no puzzles to solve just a house to explore.

CONTEXT

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You play as Kaitlin Greenbriar the elder of the 2 sisters in the Greenbriar family. Kaitlin has just come home from a year long trip around Europe and returns to an ominously empty house. It is now up to Kaitlin to explore the house and discover the events that happened in her absence.

THOUGHTS

The game is more about the other characters than the main character which is unlike most other games.

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Since Kaitlin is the main character I’m going to start with her. Nothing much is told about Kaitlin mostly because the house is a place she has never been to. Kaitlin’s personality is depicted through post cards she sends home from her travels but for the most part Kaitlin is the vehicle in which you experience the story of Gone Home.

Moving through the house you notice that the game tells a very believable story from a very specific time the 1990s to be exact as we can tell from the collection of video tapes and notes to given to Sam(Kaitlin’s sister) by her friends.

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The game slowly reveals the story in the form of notes, audio logs and paraphernalia around the house. A lot of the items around the house add context to the situation the family, the personalities of the characters and the troubles the characters are facing. E.g. Books found on Parenting show that the Father and Mother are having trouble with Sam, books about dealing with loneliness lend some context to Sam’s problems.

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The game respects your intelligence and lets you figure out how each piece of information links to another.

CONCLUSIONS ON THE STORY

These are the conclusions I came to at the end of the story.

SPOILER ALERT!

The House: Inherited from the Uncle in the story. Although the Greenbriars have been living here for almost a year, they don’t seem to be very comfortable here. This is evidenced by boxes of personal effects still left unopened suggesting that they have never moved in fully.

The game also suggests that the occupants of the house do not really interact with each other.

The Parents: Jan and Terry Greenbriar, have a failing marriage mostly due to Terry’s depression.

The Father: A writer who sunk into depression and is obsessed with the JFK murder in 1963. A failing writer stuck in the past. His troubles are evidenced by the well appointed wet bar in the house and the bottle of booze in the study. Spends most of his time in the study and the library.

The Mother: Spends her time in the art studio and the kitchen. Due to her failing marriage it is also hinted that she was having an affair with a co-worker. This is shown by the note she received from a girlfriend of hers and the concert tickets.

Sam: A troubled kid growing up in a new place away from her friends and experiencing extreme loneliness. She is in love and is desperately trying to hold on to it. Sam spends all of her time in her room, the secret servants quarters and the attic.

The Uncle: The Greenbriars inherited the estate from him. It is shown that he has a drug problem from the contents of his safe and the fact that he sold his pharmacy as evidenced from his letter to his sister who unfortunately mailed it back without opening it. He died a regretful, lonely man.

The upside: The story takes a turn for the better leaving you with a sense of satisfaction at the end. Her mother did not go for the concert with the male-coworker, it is evidenced that that coworker has an out of town girlfriend and married her 2 days prior to the game’s start. The mother considered attending the wedding but decided against it in favor of going to a couples counseling retreat with the father suggesting that Kaitlin’s parents are trying to reconcile.

The father has found a new publisher and is doing relatively well, he has also got over the JFK murder and instead chose to write about the life of JFK himself.

Sam decided to elope with Lonnie(Sam’s love), although it seems bad but her letters take on a happier tone toward the end suggesting that she is happy.

The only person who had a tragic end was the Uncle. But I feel that the fact he conferred the estate to the Father shows that he is trying to reach out to the Father even in his death. The fact the the Greenbriar family moved in to the house shows that his attempt was successful.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This game is a great example of a fragmented narrative it lets you pick up information from anywhere in the game (mostly) and piece the information together by yourself sort of like a narrative jigsaw puzzle. Unlike games like HerStory or Everyone’s gone to Rapture it does not have the premise of following leads or a ball of light leading you to find out things. It lets you discover the game and advance in the story at your own pace making it feel very honest.